I just need to get this off my chest. I've been very annoyed for the last few months, receiving telephone calls from this number: 612-256-9958; it shows up as Unknown Name. They called again today and this time said they could lower my mortgage payments and interest rate. They sometimes call saying they can lower my credit card interest rates. But most of the time it's dead air or they just hang up.

Well today I did a little research and apparently this number calls lots of people in the US and Canada. I called my financial institution and told them. I called my phone service provider and told them (although they could only suggest I block the number, of course I would have to purchase that feature and right now I have call display so all I have to do is not answer).

If you receive a phone call from them - do not give them any information, just hang up. The Snopes website puts it best: "Trust no one, not even yourself." If a caller is unknown to you and his story sounds fishy, hang up.

Oh I know - it's pretty sad. I searched for it today and posted a few reports myself. That's when I decided to call my phone provider to see what could be done. It's really unfortunate that they can't do anything. Perhaps if they get enough complaints something might happen.

Here in Australia most homes (unless you have an unlisted number) would get an average for four or five of those types of calls every day.

It is most annoying when they call while you are trying to get ready for work and school. But the worst is they call at dinner time every night.

I was so annoyed at being interrupted twice during dinner one night that I asked if they could wait a moment while I get the baby, it is crying - they said no problem, so I left them hanging on the phone for about an hour while we finished our dinner in peace.

Another time, I told them it was not convenient, could I call them back. They said no - then I asked why not, don't you like having your dinner interrupted every day?

In America, for a short time, we had a DO NOT CALL LIST the government monitored complaints. Its somewhere in legislative-rewrite limbo so we are flooded with unwanted calls. It's an invasion of privacy!!!

I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year! Charles Dickens